My Dh makes the best lasagna. Of,course, he doesn’t use a recipe, it it seems to,always turn out great. What I do know is that he uses fresh noodles, no cook. Half ground beef and half mild Italian sausage in the sauce. I make great little meatballs that he adds in. Onion, celery, Italian seasoning from Costco, fresh garlic and diced, canned tomatoes. Tomato paste at the end if it’s too thin. Ricotta cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan between the layers and on top. I think tha it.

i have been making lasagna for a really long time and I have found that it's best using the most plain and simple ingredients. The deliciousness comes when all the ingredients blend together. In addition to the pasta, I use either 1/2 beef - 1/2 pork or all beef, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, and I buy a jar of good quality marinara sauce to mix with the meat. The simpler the better.

This is the version I've used for many years tweaking it along the way. As with most lasagna recipes, you can tweak it however you like. I've started using Trader Joe's Organic Marinara Sauce in place of the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Make the sauce in advance...it really helps with convenience and flavor. I often make the sauce way ahead and park in the freezer.

Lasagna

Sauce (best made a day or 2 ahead):
2 T. olive oil
1 lb. ground beef (or 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausage)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 28-oz. can tomato sauce
1 14 1/2-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup red wine
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried oregano (or 1 T. fresh)
1 tsp. dried basil (or 1 T. fresh)
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. pepper (or to taste)

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the meat and sauté until browned, stirring often. Add both cans of tomatoes, rinsing out with the wine, if using. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer about an hour, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning. Remove from heat and cool to room temp. Cover and put in fridge. Bring to room temperature before assembling.

Filling:
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup butter
1 pint ricotta cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry (a potato ricer works great for squeezing out liquid)
1 tsp. salt
Pinch of nutmeg

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Lasagna noodles of choice

Sauté the mushrooms in the butter; season with light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Mix mushrooms and their juices with the ricotta. Blend in spinach, Parmesan, salt and nutmeg. Taste for seasoning, and mix in eggs.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 X 13 pan and cover with about 1/2 cup sauce. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread lasagna with a thin layer of filling, top with a layer of mozzarella followed by Parmesan. Repeat until the lasagna is gone, ending with layer of sauce and a heavy sprinkling of Parmesan. Bake, covered with foil, for about 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 15-20 minutes or until bubbling. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

I make my own pasta sheets, and I use a recipe posted here a long time ago called "Joey's Killer Lasagna". It's the best I've ever had and my family prefers it over all the others, although they would never tell their very Italian Grandpa Dominick that a Native American/Irish girl made the best lasagna, LOL. And it's all thanks to Joe, so if you are out there in internet-world, thanks, Joe!

Just as a note, I never use the veal, it's not commonly available here and I don't care for it anyway, I usually just add more beef ad there is already pork in the sausage.

Joey's Killer Lasagna

Makes eight big portions.
1 medium onion -- chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage -- casings removed and broken up
1/2 pound ground veal
2 cloves garlic -- minced
4 ounces mushrooms -- chopped
15 ounces tomato sauce
12 ounces tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano -- leaves
1 teaspoon basil -- crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces mozzarella cheese -- thinly sliced
1 pound Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
12 ounces lasagna noodles

Saute the chopped onion in the olive oil. Add and cook the ground meats, starting with the sausage, then the beef, then the veal. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook. Drain.
Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, water, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer covered for 1-1/2 hours.

Cook the lasagna noodles while sauce is simmering. Use 10 to 16 pieces depending on the width of the noodles. Drain, rinse, drain again.

Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of the sauce. Layer: 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the Ricotta cheese (in dollops), 1/3 of the Mozzarella. Repeat twice more. Cover with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 40-50 minutes, or until bubbly.

You know, I just don't understand "secret" recipes. My stepfather had a "secret" BBQ sauce recipe and before he died he gave it to my brother, making him promise that he'd keep it secret and never share it with ANYONE. Whatever, I just make my own and my brother seldom/never does BBQ, so that "secret" recipe never gets made anyway. Truthfully, I like mine better anyway, so I've never asked my brother to share it, and I don't want him to be uncomfortable because I know it's TOP SECRET, LOL. Maybe I should ask him to make me a batch for the next family cookout, that would make him happy, I think, he usually asks me for cooking advice and that could turn the tables for a change.

Annie

DH loves it when I use Italian sausage with chilli and fennel for the meat sauce.

I don't get the "secret recipe" either, though I do keep my mother's Christmas cookie recipes secret because she asked me to. That may change, however, unless I get someone to pass them on to. I gave a friend my chocolate cake recipe as she kept paying me to bake them for her husband, and it seemed silly not to give her the recipe to bake them herself. However, after as couple of cakes (and she wasn't an inexperienced cook) her husband asked her to go back to buying them from me. I guess it goes to show that even if you give someone your "secret recipe" it doesn't guarantee they'll get the same result.

Colleen, that's the only reason my brother keeps it "secret", because he promised Hal he would and it was important to Hal, for some reason. I'm not going to put him on the spot by asking him for it, because I know he promised. I still don't get it, though. I know some people have gone so far as to leave out ingredients or change the recipe, which I also don't understand. If it means that much to someone to keep it a secret, just say "no, it's secret". I wouldn't be offended, I'd just shrug and make something else, there are an awful lot of good recipes out there.

Maybe it had something to do with generation? I know my Grandma was known for her pies and jams, and won ribbons at the Fair, which was a much bigger deal then than it is now. People were well known for specific dishes, at church Mrs. Brandt would always make date nut cookies (although she gave me the recipe), Mrs. May could be counted on for dinner rolls, Mrs. Olson made the best fried chicken. Recipes were carefully kept and handed down through generations. Now everyone has a blog and there are recipes everywhere, I couldn't possibly make them all even if I made a new recipe every day for the rest of my life. I can't imagine anyone reading a cooking blog where the recipes were secret, it sure wouldn't be all that interesting.

Annie

chloebud -- I use a potato ricer too for squeezing spinach:) And I agree, it is always so efficient to have things packed in the freezer, isn't it? Finding them is another thing for me:) Do you boil the noodles in your recipe, use no-boil, or straight from box?

Annie -- IDK why, but I don't care for veal either and usually end up subbing ground beef. I kept reading this as "eight killer portions" LOL! Sounds delish.

CathyinSWPA

My recipe is from the 1950s Betty Crocker cookbook and it does not include meat! Haven't made it in "forever"!

However, after as couple of cakes (and she wasn't an inexperienced
cook) her husband asked her to go back to buying them from me.

Wow! That must have been a difficult conversation....lol!

Here's the Betty Crocker Meatless Lasagna Recipe

It's Pasta al Forno in a flat format. Sounds really good!

Thanks one and all for the yummy-sounding recipes. It will take me some time to try each of them, but try I will. As for someone being selfish with a recipe - doesn't that say a lot about the keeper?

>> However, after as couple of cakes (and she wasn't an inexperienced

cook) her husband asked her to go back to buying them from me.

Wow! That must have been a difficult conversation....lol! <<

You won't be surprised when I tell you they're no longer married :-)

>> (a potato ricer works great for squeezing out liquid)<<

That's brilliant!

My extended family favors a lasagna recipe from a local Italian deli/takeout place that has also published several cookbooks. So one has the option of purchasing the prepared, ready-to-bake lasagna at the deli or make it yourself at home :-) It is made with a bechamel sauce in place of ricotta and also has feta in the cheese mix. It is very rich and best prepared the day ahead as it takes several hours to make. Not just something you whip up easily!! It used to be the go-to dinner for Christmas Day when the kids were younger and the entire family gathered but the kids have all grown up, scattered in the wind and now have kids of their own so the lasagna only appears when there is some sort of major family gathering.

But it really is the best lasagna I've ever eaten! Pasta & Co. Beef Lasagna.

Love the potato ricer idea for squeezing spinach! Great tip!

I make 2 lasagna's, one with fresh noodles, and the other is incredibly decadent using 4-cheese homemade ravioli (the filling is parm, ricotta, mozz, cream cheese, shallots, egg, and parsley) rather than the noodles. It's DH's favorite, of course! I use a recipe similar to Joey's Killer Lasagna but with ground sirloin rather than the veal, and I do use the cheese's in the lasagna layers as well as that in the ravioli.

I recently made Valerie Bertanelli's lasagna with Bachmel sauce (spelling?), and it was DELICIOUS ... though I probably won't use the no-boil noodles again.

cathyinpa, I heard that potato ricer tip years ago on a cooking show. Works great...especially when you've got quite a bit of spinach to drain (such as Ina G's yummy spinach gratin). I've used both regular and no-boil noodles for lasagna. I do prefer the regular, but the convenience of no-boil can be nice. We were recently served an excellent lasagna made with the no-boil noodles. Up to you.

Speaking of lasagna, I'm making Ina's Portobello Mushroom Lasagna this weekend. Tasty.

Sometimes secret recipes, (not always), made in large amounts for a family gathering, use shortcuts and tinned or processed food. Lasagne is so basic I can't see a reason to hold it secret. Not necessarily easy but basic meaning cheese, a noodle and a red/meat sauce.

Some may be a bit embarrassed at some of the shortcuts.

No secrets in our families. Doesn't make sense. Too many dietary issues though a bit hard to make a tasty lasagna for a vegan.

chloebud -- perfect about the noodles! And yes to the ricer! I bought that probably 25 years ago and thought it would be one hit wonder. I actually do use it for potatoes, spinach, but I also use to squeeze out the moisture when making latkes. Really does a great job!

Lots of great recipes here. Bookmarking this one!

CathyinSWPA

Cathy, it would be great for latkes! I once sent that ricer tip to Fine Cooking magazine. They printed it in the "Readers' Tips" section of the magazine as their "top pick" and sent me a check. :-)

Try adding a little cinnamon, a shake of nutmeg, and a couple tablespoons of cream to the ricotta mixture.

Colleen, what a great tip, and so is the one about the potato ricer and spinach. I have both of those things and still wrap spinach and potatoes in a towel, making one heckuva mess and adding to my laundry.

Thanks!

Oh, and Cathy, if you cut this into 8 it really is "killer portions", probably both in fat grams and calories and in sheer quantity...

Annie

chloebud -- So how does it feel to be rich and famous? HA! That's so fun!

colleenoz -- Brilliant. Gosh, I may have to try this today just cause it's just tempting. Not actually make latkes, but just spin some potatoes:)

Annie -- And those portions would be just the way my guys like 'em:)!

CathyinSWPA

Colleen, I also use my salad spinner for potatoes. Works great! And I wouldn’t do without my ricer, although now I’m going to use it for spinach. Thanks!

A 101 question: The term "no-boil" noodles is clear to me as is "regular" noodles, but what are "fresh" noodles? Are you making your own?

Well, you,can buy lasagna sheets in a pkg at the store that are not dried. They are in the produce dept. you don’t need to cook them, for lasagna.

Oliveri

dandyrandylou, apologies for not explaining my definition when using the words "fresh noodles" as they might be different than someone else's. For me, fresh noodles means homemade noodles. Made just prior to putting them in the lasagna. So yes, making my own. I prefer the texture and taste of homemade, although in a pinch I would use store-bought noodles : )

"... and still wrap spinach and potatoes in a towel, making one heckuva mess and adding to my laundry."

Ugh...no need for that, for sure...pull out the ricer! :-)

2ManyDiversions: No apology necessary. I'm a nerd for details, but will have to live with bought oodles.

dandyrandylou, if it's lasagna, has ricotta in it, it's all good!

But..... Isn't an authentic lasagne dish from Bologna, made with just a ragu, pasta and bechamel ? No ricotta, no spinach, no mozzarella.......

https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/food-and-wine/italian-lasagna-recipe

Now, I'm waiting for the flack lol

I've never seen lasagne as cooked in the U.S. in Italy. In the same way that pizzas are not loaded the way many of you like. Good food cooked simply.

Islay, you won't get flack from me : ) I think it's not just State to State, Country to Country, (and then there are various regions) but also what our personal tastes prefer, and what we've grown to prefer. Some authentic dishes I enjoy, but others just aren't to my personal preferences. I prefer my own Americanized pasta sauce to authentic bolognese, which I find lacking in flavor (oddly). But I do enjoy trying authentic recipes for meals that I've prepared in the 'Americanized' versions.

dandyrandylou, no, I've never used tomato frito in a lasagna sauce, but why not?! I do sometimes combine cultural ingredients just because I hope the flavors will work.

dandyrandylou, I make my own pasta, because I like that so much better than the commercially available dried stuff that's common here. It's really pretty easy because I don't have to cut or shape the pasta like when making ravioli or other shapes, I just roll those big long sheets through the Atlas and use them without any further cutting.

Islay I've never had a lasagna that wasn't loaded with cheese, but Michigan is a long, long way from Italy! My son-in-law likes it and that's the way his Grandmother makes it. His Grandma is actually from Italy, although I don't know where, so maybe she's become "Americanized", or maybe it's regional there too, I don't know. Since I'm not a fan of cheese, I'd probably like it better without....

Annie

I'm fond of the Cook's Illustrated Spinach Lasagna. I do sub high-quality ricotta because DH cannot stand cottage cheese, lol. This is delicate and delicious. It does not make a humongous amount, so if you need to serve more people it is best assembled in two pans.

A tip from the magazine: use true imported Italian fontina, not the domestic brands. It makes a difference. My tip: use true Turkish laurel, not California bay leaves; and freshly grated nutmeg. In something this simple, quality herbs/spices matter:

http://dinahs-dishes.com/2012/02/29/spinach-lasagna/#.WwIMFkgvxhY